1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is generally related to computer systems and methods of modeling hierarchically designed entities, and more specifically, to computer systems and computer implemented methods of generating, displaying and simulating a hierarchical model having cross-branch connections using multiplicity trees to represent, for example, a network model.
2. Background of the Related Art
Modern day entities and/or networks (e.g., communication networks, physical networks such as neural networks, organizational networks, and the like) are extremely complex. They are often distributed over great distances and typically consist of many, possibly even thousands of nodes. For modeling purposes, the configurations may often be adequately described in but a few phrases or sentences.
For example, in a network example, a wide area network ("WAN") used by a convenience store chain of 100 stores may suitably be described as including a processing hub in each store, each hub connected via the WAN to a processing center and having fifty attached workstations; wherein each of the workstations accesses a common application program and is operative to send in 100-byte requests and receive back 1000 byte responses. Such a description shows that there are actually only a small number of network elements to be described, although there may exist a large multiplicity of some of these elements (e.g., instances, plurality, multitude, multiformity, several, etc.).
Conventional modeling tools fail to exploit the simplicity of the above description. In point of fact, conventional modeling tools have very limited capacity to reduce the drawing complexity. They require one to draw all 100 hubs, and report on hub utilizations only one at a time. For many modeling tools, the same is true for the 5000 workstations as well.
An important use of modeling tools is to design and tailor a entity and/or network to a user's particular needs. The model should explore many possible combinations of, for example, structure, link speeds, router capacities, message rates, links and router quantities, and the like, in a search for a "best fit" to a user's needs. A fast and efficient means of modeling and displaying an entity, and a concise report on simulation of the entity is needed. Unfortunately, conventional modeling techniques used in modeling tools are too cumbersome to accomplish the foregoing.
I have discovered that presently available modeling tools suffer from a common ailment--specifically, they fail to recognize symmetries and element groupings associated with an entity and/or network. The occurrence and recognition of these typical symmetries and common groupings may suitably reduce the description necessary for a complete model, thereby improving the power and efficiency of the modeling tool.
Accordingly, there exists a need in the art for a modeling tool that recognizes symmetries and common groupings of elements in a proposed entity and/or network, and uses the same to provide a simplified representation of the entity and/or network.
There exists a further need in the art for a modeling tool that easily modifies, or reconfigures, a model without substantially redefining the entire representation of the entity and/or network.
There exists a still further need in the art for a modeling tool that provides a concise pictorial representation of the entity, as well as a report on the performance of the entity, elements and common groups of elements within the entity.
There exists a still further need in the art for a modeling tool that provides a simplified representation of the entity and/or network with arbitrary familial relationships between nodes and/or regions in an entity and/or network.